CCW GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS ON LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS TO MEET NEXT WEEK
Photos: Action Press/PM Virot
A Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), which was established in 2016 by the Fifth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), will meet for the first time from 13 to 17 November.
The GGE will be chaired by Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill of India. It has been mandated with examining emerging technologies in the area of LAWS, and has drawn great interest. Participation is expected from a wide array of stakeholders, including many of the Convention’s 125 High Contracting Parties, as well as representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, industry and civil society.
The meeting will bring together this diverse group to allow for an exchange of views and expertise on this multi-faceted issue. It is expected that the GGE will consider LAWS from various angles, including technological, military, ethical and legal dimensions.
The discussion will build on three informal meetings of experts on the topic, held under the auspices of the CCW in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
In the foreword to an Occasional Paper published by the Office for Disarmament Affairs, offering perspectives by knowledgeable contributors on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, and prepared with the above meeting in mind, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, expressed hope that this first round of formal deliberations will “provide an opportunity for States to further build understanding, exchange views and explore areas of normative convergence”.
Ambassador Amandeep Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament and Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethat Autonomous Weapon Systems answered question from journalists following a Press Conference at the UN in Geneva.
Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are a type of military robot designed to select and attack military targets (people, installations) without intervention by a human operator. LAW are also called lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), lethal autonomous robots (LAR), robotic weapons, or killer robots. LAWs may operate in the air, on land, on water, under water, or in space. The autonomy of current systems as of 2016 is restricted in the sense that a human gives the final command to attack - though there are exceptions with certain «defensive" systems.
Lethal autonomous weapons should not be confused with UCAVs or "combat drones", which are currently remote-controlled by human pilots. (LAWS are considered a subset of combat drones). Even though combat drones can fly autonomously, they do not fire autonomously, but rather by a trained human operator.
